Ex-Girlfriend Club episode 3 recap

Side dish: Amazingly, Myeong Soo was not distracted by the chicken on a stick that Soo Jin kept waving in his face. Drive others to distraction by making Filipino BBQ Chicken On a Stick.

Episode Recap

After learning that her ex-boyfriend, Bang Myeong Soo (Byun Yo Han) never saw her as anything more than a friend, Kim Soo Jin (Song Ji Hyo) pokes holes in the eyes of a photo of him to cheer herself up. This provides only fleeting amusement before Soo Jin returns to crying.

When Soo Jin emerges from her apartment to dispose of garbage, Myeong Soo is waiting outside. He does all the talking, repeatedly turning on the charm, before apologizing when Soo Jin is visibly unmoved. He offers to alleviate her humiliation by announcing to everyone that they did, indeed, date. Soo Jin responds by dumping her organic waste over his head.

After showering, Myeong Soo tries to get support from his fellow cartoonist and roommate, Jin Bae. However, Jin Bae thinks that Myeong Soo flirts too carelessly, and plays the white knight too readily. Meanwhile, a confused Soo Jin asks her brother-in-law, Ji Hoon how men decide which girls to date and what is considered dating. Ji Hoon claims that attractive girls become girlfriends and skinship equals dating. Soo Jin has an angry outburst about mixed messages.

When Soo Jin finally returns to work, she cannot even enter the office out of embarrassment. Then, a witness to her humiliation, Myeong Soo’s ex-girlfriend, Jang Hwa Young (Lee Yoon Ji) shows up. Hwa Young reads the script of the movie that she has invested in, and she is unimpressed by the lack of relationship drama. Even after her demands are met, Hwa Young orders Soo Jin to rewrite the script to be completely different from its source material, Myeong Soo’s webtoon.

Soo Jin patiently suffers all of Hwa Young’s bossy hysterics, but loses her cool with Myeong Soo. She is furious that she must work with a constant reminder of being rejected and humiliated. Soo Jin proposes that she and Myeong Soo proceed as complete strangers from now on, and he appears guilt-ridden.

The next day, Myeong Soo puts on a brave front and pays Hwa Young a visit at her workplace. He announces that he will be the scriptwriter for the movie adaptation of his webtoon. When Hwa Young protests, he threatens to introduce himself to her fiancé, the chaebol son of the company owner. Afterwards, Myeong Soo shows up at Soo Jin’s office to claim a desk as the new self-appointed scriptwriter.

Myeong Soo’s actress ex-girlfriend, Ra Ra (Hwa Young) aggressively hunts down a director to propose being cast in his upcoming drama. The director bluntly tells her that she is unfit to play a career woman. Ra Ra retreats to the requisite star vehicle, a minivan with tinted windows, to bawl and have a tantrum over her faltering career. However, Ra Ra quickly rallies to go searching for Myeong Soo, pumps Jin Bae for information, then turns him into an informant.

Meanwhile, at the office, Soo Jin’s colleague, Eun Hye proposes lunch, but Soo Jin, Myeong Soo and Hwa Young all have a starvation standoff, in spite of audible protests from their stomachs. Though he can do without sustenance, Myeong Soo is forced to ask Soo Jin for her help, because he has no experience writing movie scripts. Soo Jin gives advice, before electing to do some heavy editing. Myeong Soo attempts to hide how impressed he is.

Soo Jin and Myeong Soo are invited by his ex-girlfriend, Na Ji Ah (Jang Ji Eun) to her restaurant and bar. Ji Ah is friendlier towards Soo Jin now that she knows that Soo Jin is not competition. Soo Jin makes a crack about Ji Ah’s age, and Myeong Soo is happily oblivious to the bitchy exchange between the two women.

Ji Ah has gotten word that Myeong Soo is now the scriptwriter, and asks if he is going to include the fact that they slept together on the very day they met. She suggests that he pretty up their story, maybe make it more like The Great Gatsby.

Soo Jin storms out of the restaurant, furious about how easy Myeong Soo is, and about having to deal with two mothers-in-law in Hwa Young and Ji Ah. Myeong Soo points out that at least she does not have to deal with all three of his ex-girlfriends since Ra Ra will never see the script.

Ex number three, Ra Ra contacts Soo Jin and Myeong Soo to inform them that she has changed her mind, and is now in favour of the movie. She presents a copy of the script all marked up with changes that would make her character a career woman and include some award-baiting dramatic dialogue. Myeong Soo wonders how Ra Ra got a copy of the script, then quickly zeros in on Jin Bae as the source, and punishes him.

Myeong Soo is lamenting having to cater to three masters when he learns from Soo Jin about the practice of producing two scripts: the original, and the censored copy for the public. It suddenly occurs to him to create two movie scripts: the actual one and the mock one to satisfy the ex-girlfriends.

Admittedly, both Soo Jin and Myeong Soo are scared of Hwa Young finding out about their ruse. Myeong Soo recalls what an insanely jealous and possessive stalker Hwa Young used to be. He worries that this quality about Hwa Young will not translate well in live action. As a documentary filmmaker, Soo Jin advises Myeong Soo to show everything in their unadulterated glory so the audience can come to their own conclusions. Once again, Myeong Soo is visibly impressed, remarking at how she has matured, before turning it into an insult about her advanced age.

Soo Jin is having a home facial with Ji Hoon and her sister, Soo Gyeong, when she asks which of them was more obsessed about the other when they were dating. The couple argue then wonder if Soo Jin is asking for personal or professional reasons. Soo Gyeong scoffs at the idea of Soo Jin dating or being capable of making a romantic movie, then goes on a tirade about the comic artist she used to date. Soo Jin escapes before any more questions about Myeong Soo are asked.

Soo Jin and Myeong Soo present their dummy script to Hwa Young, and she is so pleased that she gives the go-ahead to pass it along to her boss/fiancé. Ra Ra is less impressed when Soo Jin presents her with the fake script. She does not like the flattering portrayal of Ji Ah, in particular, given how she dated Myeong Soo in secret while still hunting for better marriage prospects. Based on intelligence she is still collecting from Jin Bae, she knows that Myeong Soo comes home at dawn every day, and she suspects that he is back with Ji Ah.

Hwa Young is having dinner with her fiancé when he mentions how amusing he found Myeong Soo’s script, and recalls scenes that are recreations of Hwa Young’s public meltdowns while she was dating Myeong Soo. Hwa Young pretends to be on the same page as her fiancé, but looks visibly ill as she realizes she has been tricked.

Soo Jin ends up getting pressured into bringing Ra Ra to Ji Ah’s restaurant, and Ji Ah and Myeong Soo look less than thrilled by Ra Ra’s discovery of their work arrangement. Things become uncomfortable as Ra Ra and Ji Ah exchange barbs and pointed looks. When a crazed Hwa Young calls Soo Jin while she is in the washroom, Ra Ra decides to throw oil on the fire by answering the phone, and telling her exactly where everyone is.

The blow up is even more spectacular than Ra Ra could have imagined when Hwa Young arrives and reveals to the two other ex-girlfriends that they have been misled about the script. As Hwa Young pulls on Myeong Soo’s hair, Myeong Soo catches Soo Jin as she is trying to escape. Ji Ah latches on to Hwa Young after she insults her restaurant. Ra Ra enters the fray to stop Hwa Young when Myeong Soo protests about possible hair loss. The flurry of hair pulling and screaming continues unabated as the credits roll.

Comments

I am not a fan of over-the-top slapstick, especially the kind that involves hair pulling, so I did not enjoy the cat fight of the final scene, nor the repeat instances of female hysterics throughout this episode. What I did laugh at were the more subdued comedic moments: Soo Jin’s silent reactions to Myeong Soo’s frantic attempts to placate her, Hwa Young’s nervous attempt to convey that her relationship with Myeong Soo is purely professional, Ra Ra’s flitting about in search of the Kdrama director while dressed as her warped version of a career woman.

Fortunately, Soo Jin is demonstrating her professional competence and is no longer flustered in her interactions with Myeong Soo. Myeong Soo is already showing appreciation for Soo Jin’s skills, and teaming up with her towards a common goal. I appreciate that the writers decided not to drag out the initial awkward stage of their current relationship, and toned down the combative interactions between the lead couple as the episode progressed.

Myeong Soo is still cute, though a little less attractive in this episode as it became apparent how easily he gets run over by his ex-girlfriends. About the only time he showed heartthrob potential was when he manned up and tamed Hwa Young to become the scriptwriter. Maybe his character’s personal growth involves realizing that he can’t just smile his way through conflict, though I enjoy watching him try.

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Ex-Girlfriend Club (구여친클럽)

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